bad advice
by mew-tsubaki
Summary: Oneshot. One thing after another, the other shoe always drops. That's how Suzumeda Kaori's life always has been and always will be—especially when someone else answers Yamagata Hayato's phone. .::Suzugata; very light T for language::.


**bad advice**

A Haikyuu! oneshot

by mew-tsubaki

Note: The _Haikyuu!_ characters belong to Furudate Haruichi-sensei, not to me. And now to introduce to you a ship you didn't know you needed: Suzugata. ;3 Read, review, and enjoy!

\- ^-^3

Suzumeda Kaori passed out towels to the Men's Fukurodani Volleyball Club members as the last break for the day commenced. Her senpai and fellow club manager, Shirofuku Yukie, handed out the water bottles, and only a minute later did Coach Yamiji tell the boys that it was time to get back to work.

As the volleyball players ran laps and eased into their cool-down phase and stretches, Suzumeda quickly gathered up the towels, the weight in her pocket making her smile. The second her task was done, she took her phone out and turned her back to the coach, checking the time. She itched to send a quick text—but no. She couldn't text this. This was too important. She'd need to call him. But she could only call him once practice was over.

Still, the wait was hard. Suzumeda bounced on her heels, afraid that bouncing on the balls of her feet might catch the others' eyes and give her away.

"Kaori-chan!" Shirofuku called as the redhead hustled behind her to gather up empties.

"Yes!" she answered, and she stashed her phone again. After all, it'd only be for a few more minutes.

The girls donned their jackets and quickly ducked outside to refill the water bottles one last time. The snow wasn't much more than a coating right now—unusual but not unheard of for Tokyo in December—but it was freezing outside, and the sooner the task was done, the better. With the bottle baskets full, they returned inside in time to dole out supplies now that practice was over.

Some of the first years were keen on helping Suzumeda collect towels as the athletes finished using them, like quiet Kuroda who swiftly passed the towels to Suzumeda like a ghost giving her presents, or reedy Hige who was friendly and tripped over his own feet a few times as he offered to take all the second years' towels. Onaga was still catching his breath on the sidelines with Washio, but Suzumeda could count on him later to grab any of the third years' she missed.

As the net was disassembled and the floors cleaned, Suzumeda double-checked the laundry basket and reviewed her notes with Shirofuku's. The blonde thought she felt her pocket buzz, but she ignored it until Shirofuku gathered their information to have Coach Yamiji consult. Then her hand was in her pocket faster than Bokuto could reach one of Akaashi's tosses.

No messages and no missed calls.

Oh. So she had imagined it.

Nevertheless, Suzumeda shook the small bout of disappointment off. It made sense. They didn't text hourly and sometimes not even daily, and calls often were reserved for weekends or school breaks. …though the irony wasn't lost on her, that this _was_ a Saturday, and it _was_ winter break. Sure, he knew she'd be busy with practice, and she knew he might be helping out his team even though the third years were done for the year. They didn't _have_ to be in constant contact.

"You've been fiddling with your pocket all day~" Shirofuku pointed out, hovering by Suzumeda's right arm and spooking her.

"Yeah, I just—I have a call to make."

Shirofuku raised her eyebrows, curious.

Suzumeda reached into her other pocket, squeezing the tickets there for courage, and she jerked her head towards a quiet corner of the gym. "I'll just be a sec," she assured her senpai as she walked away, ponytail swinging behind her.

The guys trickled out of the gym, so the corner felt decently quiet when Suzumeda opened her contacts and dialed him. She held the phone to her ear—she knew better than to use speakerphone at Fukurodani, much as she loved her owl friends—and bit her lower lip while it rang, hoping her smile wasn't as big as it felt. She'd feel silly if he heard it in her voice. …although, he'd understand her giddiness, once he knew about the tickets.

The line connected, and Suzumeda inhaled at the same time she said, "Hey, Hayato-kun—" She stopped short, though, when a creepy, girlish giggle answered.

"Hello~?"

Suzumeda cringed. There…was something saccharine about the person's tone. It made her skin itch. "Um, hello. Is Yamagata-kun there?" she asked, just in case he'd left his phone somewhere again.

The other person sighed. "Ahh, Hayato left his phone in my room again~" The voice wasn't very deep, but the person's words and girly giggle were off-putting, and Suzumeda immediately hung up, not intent to continue this—this _odd_ conversation. If it could be called that.

The blonde turned on her heel, phone back in her pocket, and rubbed her arm as she made for the door, hoping the itchy feeling wouldn't stay.

Shirofuku glanced her way and left their coach behind, scurrying after the other girl. She let Suzumeda take the laundry and the clipboards, but she furrowed her brow when Suzumeda turned for the door without a word. "Kaori-chan?" There was no hint of her usual playfulness in her tone. "Kaori-chan, what's wrong?"

The managers made it just outside the gym when Suzumeda dragged her feet and appraised her short senpai skeptically. "I…uh…had a wrong number," she fibbed.

Shirofuku stared up at her with half-lidded eyes. "Kaori-chan."

Reluctantly, Suzumeda tucked her chin into her jacket's collar and mumbled, "Someone else picked up. Someone I didn't know."

The other girl was quiet for a while. They trekked the white-covered lawn between the gym and the clubhouses, and they put things away in the girls' clubroom silently. Once they had their belongings and were ready to head home, Shirofuku piped up at the door. "It was important, wasn't it?"

Suzumeda frowned. "Maybe, maybe not."

Shirofuku barred the blonde's path to the exit by standing in front of the door. "Kaori-chan." She lowered her brown eyes, staring emphatically at the girl's pockets.

And Suzumeda knew what she meant. She pulled from her left pocket the tickets and showed them to Shirofuku. "I got these last-minute. They're for an indoor event nearby, showcasing famous soccer stars."

"A soccer promotional event to boost interest here, right?"

Suzumeda nodded. "I was going to invite him down…"

Shirofuku pursed her lips. "Who is he? Your mysterious childhood friend, right?"

That's right. She'd mentioned him to Shirofuku, but Suzumeda couldn't recall having told her many details. "…promise you won't laugh?"

"Promise," the redhead said with a sigh.

"Yamagata Hayato."

Shirofuku scrunched up her nose. "Why does that name—"

"Shiratorizawa's libero." Suzumeda paused. "Well, now former libero."

Those brown eyes widened, and Shirofuku fought a smile. Then she slid her eyes to the right-side wall as if peering through to the next few rooms. "Don't ever let the guys hear about this. Teased or branded a traitor—I don't know which is worse."

Suzumeda chuckled, not surprised. She'd thought about it, too, if the guys ever came to learn she was close to someone from a rival school, but she couldn't imagine them honestly holding a grudge. She also wasn't surprised that Shirofuku thought the revelation entertaining but not worth teasing Suzumeda over.

"Okay. So. Yamagata. And someone else answered his phone?"

Her smile faded. "It was…weird. Really weird. That creepy giggle—" She shivered. "I don't think I'll forget it any time soon."

Shirofuku frowned, too, and they left the clubroom as the last of the boys exited from two doors down, mainly Sarukui, Komi, and Konoha, who waved to the girls.

"Maybe it was a mistake. I should call him back," Suzumeda thought aloud softly as she and Shirofuku fell into step a few feet from the others.

Shirofuku snorted. "I say no."

"Why not?"

"If he does something to piss you off," the third-year manager replied, her volume suddenly louder, "then you gotta let him stew every once in a while~"

Not that Suzumeda has been angry over the incident, but she understood Shirofuku's words weren't necessarily meant only for her. Ahead of them, Konoha howled and came to a stop, turning around to glare at Shirofuku.

" _HEY_! I didn't mean to eat the last bite of fried rice from your lunch," he insisted, and his sharp eyes followed Shirofuku as the girls passed him. He jogged to her side. "But that was a week ago! Why aren't you over it yet?!"

Suzumeda chuckled again when Shirofuku flipped her burgundy hair over her shoulder at Konoha, and she was glad for the distraction, though it only lasted until Konoha had to break away and head for the train station. After that, Shirofuku kept her company for most of their walk home, but then the girls had to split, too.

At home, Suzumeda's thoughts circled back to Shirofuku's determination that she not try Yamagata again tonight. Personally, Suzumeda disagreed. She _did_ think she should call back. Maybe this was some tiny misunderstanding. It wasn't the first time someone else had answered his phone, though she was more accustomed to hearing his mother or father answer, when he was home from the dorms, and occasionally a teacher picked up his phone when he misplaced it at school; Shiratorizawa's assistant coach, Saitou-san, had found Yamagata's phone twice when she'd called, and he'd answered very politely the second time it happened because Yamagata had mentioned Suzumeda to him.

But…she shivered again when she recalled that giggle. Maybe this time _wasn't_ just some misunderstanding. A part of Suzumeda wasn't sure she wanted to know the real story.

Doubtful, Suzumeda ultimately decided to be a good kouhai and follow Shirofuku's sage advice. Though she stiffened when her mother asked how her day had gone, Suzumeda felt better following Shirofuku's advice and expanding on it by not even mentioning the incident to her parents. It was easy to do. They didn't even know she'd bought the event tickets; she'd had enough pocket money saved up from several allowances.

She made it through dinner fine, and she had mostly put things out of her mind by the time she finished in the bath. Suzumeda was on her way back to her bedroom when she heard the landline ring down the hall, and her mother answered.

"Suzumeda hou—oh, Hayato, how are you? It's been so long! Kaori? Yes, she's—" Her mother turned and craned her neck around the corner, and she furrowed her brow when Suzumeda shook her head.

"I have some reading to finish," she lied. Total malarkey. She'd finished all her winter break assignments—not that there'd been many—at the start of vacation, knowing how full Coach Yamiji had packed the team's days in preparation for the Spring High.

Her mother pulled a face, wearing a freckled frown that would've been accompanied by a snort had she not been on the phone. "Kaori's studying. I'll tell her you called." She hung up then, but she didn't let her daughter escape without giving her a stern look. "Kaori. Do you really have studying to do? You could've spared Hayato a minute or two."

Suzumeda felt rooted to the spot by her mother's tone and stare, and she didn't talk back.

But the older woman sighed. "He said he tried reaching you, but your phone's off. Make sure to charge it and get back to him, okay? He's your friend."

Suzumeda nodded and returned to her room, where she found her phone on her bed. She picked it up, pushing buttons. The screen stayed blank. It must've run out of battery sometime between getting home and finally tucking in for the night.

She plugged it in but didn't bother turning the network settings on; they'd come back on later once the battery had some juice, anyway. With a guilty glance at the device, Suzumeda turned to her bookcase and picked up a book to read so she wouldn't be a complete liar, and she managed to nod off in the silence, even the tickets forgotten in her uniform pockets….

\- ^-^3

Despite managing to sleep, she didn't sleep _well_. She had a hard time staying asleep. Even in the morning, Suzumeda didn't feel that great waking to the furry face of her Maine Coon, Saki, pressed to hers, the cat purring so strongly Suzumeda could feel it throughout her bones.

She rolled Saki off her chest—because there was no simply hefting a Maine Coon—and sat up in bed, pointedly avoiding glancing at her phone on the nightstand as she stood to get ready for the day. And she tried looking forward to the day, since it was going to be much the same as yesterday, considering Coach Yamiji was not going to let the boys off the hook for a single practice after Bokuto, Konoha, and Sarukui all had said not long ago that things were getting easy.

Still, being happy about hanging with her team was easier said than done, and Suzumeda couldn't help chewing on her lower lip. Her parents didn't say anything at breakfast, though Suzumeda knew her mother frowned when she thought her daughter wasn't looking. And even morning practice wouldn't see her with her lip out from between her teeth for very long.

The thing was, Suzumeda honestly regretted not answering him last night, and she hadn't even read his texts this morning. But what worried her more was _why_ she hadn't gotten back to Yamagata yet, and it wasn't because of Shirofuku's advice.

More than that, Suzumeda thought as morning bled into noon, she felt… _torn up_. That was it. She felt torn up inside at the thought of what everything meant.

Why would a girl answer Yamagata's phone when Shiratorizawa was a dorm school, without coed dorms?

And—and this was what brought that itchy feeling back and made Suzumeda scratch her arms when she thought no one was looking—if Yamagata _did_ have a girlfriend, how could he date someone who sounded like that?

She frowned and groaned. Of course it was stupid to judge someone she'd never met by her voice alone. But— _come on_. The girl's voice on the other end of the line sounded like a caricature. Suzumeda couldn't picture her oldest friend with someone fake. Not that there was anything wrong with a girly girl, either, if that was all the girl was, but Suzumeda couldn't even picture Yamagata with someone who might not be remotely interested in spending time outdoors, let alone sports.

At that thought, Suzumeda chewed more on her lip and scratched her left upper arm.

When the morning was half gone and Suzumeda had done a decent job of faking it in front of the perceptive Shirofuku, the blonde did finally relax when it was time to eat lunch, and she sat on the sidelines to Shirofuku's left, on the regulars' periphery. She thought her phone buzzed in her pocket with a text, and she ignored it at first.

However, when lunch ended and she put her bento away, she snuck a peak and saw she hadn't imagined the message this time. It was a quick text from Yamagata:

 _-pls PLS meet me at the usual station at 4pm._

Suzumeda frowned again, her eyes focused on the most recent message and not looking up at what else he'd sent last night, but she wasn't allowed to frown for long. Shirofuku reached over and pinched her chin, and Suzumeda startled. "What are you doing, Yukie-senpai?"

"Keeping you from chewing your lip off. And I'm ready to sit right here for the rest of club if I have to." Shirofuku even glared at her.

The sentiment made Suzumeda grin for the first time in about half a day. She grabbed the other girl's wrist and tugged her hand away. "I'm fine."

"Bullshit, Kaori-chan."

"Well…no, you're right. I just—" Suzumeda averted her eyes and decided it'd save some time if she showed Shirofuku the text.

Shirofuku read it, stood, and then gave her kouhai a hand up. "…oh."

"Yeah. I'm not sure if I should go."

Shirofuku exhaled slowly. She put her hands on her hips and looked around the gym, mainly at the guys as they picked up their trash and made certain nothing would make its way to the court. Then she fixed her eyes back on Suzumeda. "Go home early, Kaori-chan," she encouraged.

"But—"

The older girl shook her head. "I mean it. I can handle Yamisen and the boys for the rest of the morning. So go home, calm down, rest a little—"

Suzumeda quirked an eyebrow.

"—and then go meet him."

"…I thought your advice was to ignore him?"

"Only a little bit. Sometimes a guy needs a touch of the cold shoulder. But, at the same time, everyone deserves to be heard. Did you even read his other messages? I thought I saw some above this one in your chat."

Suzumeda scuffed the toe of her right sneaker on the floor.

"Then meet him and sort this out in person. You'll feel better when you do so. Maybe not right away, but…eventually." She raised her eyebrows, but her eyes softened, as if preparing for Suzumeda to hear the worst today, whatever it may be.

Suzumeda nodded, feeling nervous the longer Shirofuku looked so kindly at her like that. "Thank you, Senpai."

\- ^-^3

Back at home, Suzumeda gratefully exchanged her sweats for a warmer, long-sleeved t-shirt and jeans, and she managed a reassuring smile for her mom who was surprised to see her home earlier than planned. But Suzumeda didn't stay indoors while her thoughts churned.

Outside, Suzumeda cleared frost from a path cutting across her front yard and, satisfied it was dry enough, stretched and did short sprints from the far edge of the driveway to the stone wall backing their small garden at the property line. Saki stood on the front stoop while Suzumeda shoveled snow, but then the cat dashed alongside her as the girl tried to get her thoughts in order.

It couldn't be too bad, what he had to say, right? Shirofuku insisted Suzumeda meet up with him, and she was still toying with the idea—but look where the redhead's advice had gotten her so far. She'd felt miserable, and that was just one night. What if what Yamagata said today meant the end of their friendship?

 _That_ was what worried her, now that she pieced the words together as she touched the stone wall and dashed back for the fourth time, Saki to her right, bounding beside her. Suzumeda and Yamagata had managed this friendship for far too long to give it up now. She still enjoyed being friends with him—didn't he feel the same?

Heading for the garden again, Suzumeda recalled befriending an even tinier Yamagata in elementary school at recess, back before she'd had her first growth spurt that had made her taller than him. A year couldn't separate soccer enthusiasts—at least, that was what Suzumeda and Yamagata had felt at the time, and they'd made a point to spend every recess and lunch together, even playing at each other's houses outside of school.

Then he'd moved away for two years, and she didn't see him again until middle school. But even middle school seemed like a treat when he moved away _yet again_ for high school. His life was a toss-up, with his mother's roots in Tokyo and his father's in Miyagi, but it wasn't all that surprising he'd gone to his father's high school, and Suzumeda was glad he'd had the chance, because Shiratorizawa _was_ prestigious.

But their friendship was a good, often very long-distance friendship. A love of soccer had founded it, and an attraction to volleyball in middle school had deepened it, though he got to play it while Suzumeda had had to plead with her extremely traditional father about his daughter playing any sport before she finally got to try out for the girls' soccer team.

At that hiccup in her childhood, Suzumeda now wrinkled her nose. Her dad had never minded her friendship with Yamagata and hadn't minded her interests in sports so long as she remained in the cheering section for Yamagata. He also had mused that she might one day date him, an idea she'd repeatedly rejected over the years…

…although, now thinking on it, Suzumeda's wrinkled nose smoothed and her frown didn't last long.

But no! Dating your closest friend was out of the question, honestly.

She shook her head free of the notion, her ponytail swishing so fiercely she smacked her cheeks with her hair. Suzumeda came to an abrupt halt in the middle of the driveway and stared down at Saki. "I'll just meet him, hear him out, and pretend yesterday didn't happen, if I can," she said.

Saki snort-purred at her, her yellow–green eyes slits.

The front door opened, and Suzumeda's mother popped her head out. "Kaori…are you sure everything's all right?" She raised an eyebrow after a quick glance to Saki, indicating she knew the teen had been talking to the cat.

Suzumeda grinned. "Hayato-kun wants to meet me soon, at the train station."

Her mother eyed her for nearly a full moment, but she cocked her head to one side in a sort of shrug. "All right. Have fun and be back by dinner." Then she backed inside, pausing when Saki trotted up to the door to go in, too.

Suzumeda was stunned by the reaction, given all the stern looks her mother had shared from last night until now. But…if her mother could feel completely fine with the situation, if Shirofuku could be calm about things, then maybe Suzumeda really could do this and get past a dumb incident and move on with her life.

Throwing caution to the wind, Suzumeda double-checked her pockets for her wallet, keys, and phone, and then she marched onto the street, taking the route she usually traversed when heading to Fukurodani High. At the end of the second block, she made a detour and crossed a small pedestrian bridge that was a shortcut for the central station hub. The station's potpourri of smells hit her nose before she actually got there, but they weren't unbearable, and Suzumeda found a good spot by the attendants' booths to wait.

And wait she did.

It was excruciating. She cleaned up old emails, reread others' texts, still couldn't bring herself to read Yamagata's texts from last night, and used up all her hearts on the three different puzzle games she'd installed on her phone. She bit the inside of her cheek when she pulled up the website for the indoor soccer event, and her free hand fished around in her pocket for the tickets—

Oh, no.

Suzumeda's throat felt thick, her chest heavy, as she checked her pockets and realized she'd left them. In her sweats. At home.

The blonde sucked in a breath but consciously decided against chewing any more on her lower lip. Gods, could anything else go wrong now?

"Suzu!"

Suzumeda blinked, nervous but at the same time relieved to hear Yamagata's voice cut through the crowd.

And, when she searched for him, she discovered it really was Yamagata, in the flesh and running towards her from the front steps—with someone in hand.

Her initial thought was that, crap, it really _had_ been his girlfriend on his phone, but then she realized the other person was tall, somewhat muscular, and…androgynous, leaning towards masculine. Their hair was red and styled wildly back, and all Suzumeda could think was that maybe a boyfriend was a possibility, too. She and Yamagata might be good friends, but even friends didn't know _everything_ about each other, right?

Yamagata pulled up right in front of Suzumeda, tugging his companion beside him, and he bowed, deeply. He shoved his companion's head down, too. "Oh, gods, Suzu, I am so sorry! And so is this guy!"

"Well—" his friend began.

Yamagata tightened his grip on his friend's hair and pushed him down further.

"Ow, ow, OW, Haya- _TO_ , I don't _bend that far_!"

"Then _apologize_."

His friend sighed and cleared his throat. "Sorry~"

Suzumeda startled at the eerily familiar tone. "Wait a minute…" It was weird to hear that girly tone of voice coming from this person, but Yamagata's pal looked familiar, too, the longer she studied him

They straightened up abruptly, and Yamagata sighed while his friend whistled and smiled. "This is Tendou Satori," he introduced, "and this idiot is very sorry for the joke he pulled the other night."

"Sorry…," Tendou mumbled again, but it was in a normal voice this time. Still, the glee was present, and he looked between the two of them as if he'd come along to watch a show.

"Wait, then—" Suzumeda furrowed her brow and blinked. She was so confused.

Yamagata sighed again and ran a hand through his hair. "Yes, I forgot my phone again. I left it in his room when we were hanging out with the others and—"

Tendou snickered. "You gotta learn to stop leaving your cell everywhere, man."

"Goddammit, Satori, _shut up_ ," Yamagata hissed, red-faced. He focused on Suzumeda again, close to pouting. "He answered it _without thinking_ and pretended to be my girlfriend for shits and giggles and, gods, I am so, _so_ sorry, Suzu. I'm not dating anyone, least of all this idiot."

"Wow. Rude. I'm super dateable—"

"SATORI, I SWEAR—"

Suzumeda took the scene in before her and…oddly felt a desire to giggle. Though both boys had stood up, only Tendou stood up straight, full of swagger that she now recalled having seen on the volleyball court when catching Shiratorizawa's matches on TV.

But Yamagata was still rather hunched over, not ready to lift his head fully yet. Likely still waiting for Suzumeda to remark.

"O…kay," she managed, and she somehow kept her laughter out of her voice.

Yamagata perked up then, straightened up and relieved. He met her eyes for a few seconds, brown locked on slate, before he turned to Tendou and turned the obnoxious fellow away, pushing him to get moving. "Go the fuck _home_ , Satori," the libero growled at his teammate.

"Aww, but I wanna watch~" Tendou whined, twisting his head back to get another good look at Suzumeda, who shrank back and took a step behind Yamagata.

"I will tell Eita on you."

"Oh, poo, you're no fun." Tendou heaved a dramatic sigh and stopped resisting. But he did wave at them and wink as he left.

With the craziness behind them, Suzumeda and Yamagata fell into an adequate silence, and he slowly turned back to her. Though his cheeks were flushed from embarrassment over Tendou's interference, his smile was as bright as Suzumeda remembered it, though internally her memory of Yamagata when they'd first met flashed in her mind, and both were cute, just…in different ways. Gods, it was good to see him. "Sorry about him," he apologized for the umpteenth time, bringing her out of her head.

Suzumeda shook her head. "No, I—I'm just surprised, is all. That Tendou-san would do that."

"He pulls pranks on us all the time. Well, except maybe Wakatoshi. They go right over his head. …Reon, too. They don't go over his head, but he rolls with the punches. Satori gave up on them a long time ago."

She noted that neither of them commented on how Yamagata had not only apologized about Tendou but had made it explicitly clear he wasn't dating anyone. …not that it mattered, because dating your closest friend was out of the question. Clearly.

Yamagata stared at her perhaps a bit longer than necessary, and Suzumeda decided that was due to not having seen each other in so long. "I'm glad you came today, Suzu-chan. Really."

She nodded. "Well…you asked. And I didn't read your other messages," she confessed.

Funnily enough, he grinned. "That's fine. I wanted to see you anyway." He reached into his right jeans pocket and pulled out a pair of familiar-looking tickets.

She gaped, the funny feeling in her chest and middle over the reality of things forgotten for the moment. "No way! You got them, too?"

One thick eyebrow of his sank low. "'Too'? Wait, you bought these, too?"

Suzumeda laughed. "I did! But…I forgot them at home."

Yamagata laughed, as well. His eyes rested on her when they calmed, and his smile was soft and genuine. "I like that, you know. That we still think of each other this way."

She nodded, her voice caught. That funny feeling in her chest and middle returned when he looked at her like that.

He checked the tickets and held his hand out to her, grumbling a curse under his breath. "But…if we don't leave now, we'll miss the opening ceremony!"

Suzumeda was too stunned to say anything else, so she took his hand and let him lead the way to the line they'd have to ride to make it to the stadium.

Hurrying to the train and even riding it, Suzumeda kept behind Yamagata, his back to her, her hand still in his, but she didn't mind. Her mind was catching up with her, still back on the platform, replaying the scene with the boys in her mind's eye. She ground the heel of her free palm into her chest, hoping to calm down the pounding in her chest—it wasn't a funny feeling after all—but…she gave up when it simply wouldn't stop. Maybe Yamagata making her worry, making her heart pound wasn't a bad thing. Plus…

Suzumeda stood an inch taller than her childhood friend, and there was no missing the flush of his skin beneath his undercut, nor the way his ears reddened.

It really wasn't a bad thing, especially since she knew she wasn't alone in these feelings.

\- ^-^3

"Happy New Year~"

Suzumeda chuckled when she caught up with Shirofuku at the final practice before the semester resumed—and, more importantly, the final practice before the Spring High. "Happy New Year to you, too, Yukie-senpai. Are you happy break's almost over?"

Shirofuku rolled her head around and stretched her shoulders. "I guess~" She smiled at the blonde. "I'm glad to see you in better spirits, Kaori-chan~"

"I'm glad to _be_ in better spirits."

Shirofuku's soft smile widened. Then she perked up as if realizing something. "Oh! By the way~ My idiot made up with me by making me a bento~" Her smile was more a smirk when Konoha picked up his head upon entering the gym and met Shirofuku's eyes, raising a worried eyebrow. "I took a peek and a taste already. It's a little sloppy, but it tastes good~"

Suzumeda laughed, seeing the older girl so over the moon. Actually, it made her think that, sometimes, it was good to have plans go awry, since Shirofuku was no longer following her own advice about Konoha and…

Coach Yamiji called everyone to gather, including the managers, so the girls abandoned their things on the sidelines. But Suzumeda thought she felt several buzzes in her pocket, and Shirofuku shooed her to answer them quickly. Unsurprisingly, they were texts from Yamagata:

 _-suzu! i was thinking of coming down real quick again—would you like to do the shrine visit with me?_

 _-if you want to_

 _-you haven't done it yet, right?_

 _-omg pls stop me now before i can jinx myself over our first date_

She held her breath, wondering if he realized he didn't need Tendou's assistance to let something unexpected unfold.

 _-WAIT I_

 _-you know what: would you pls go to the shrine with me?_

Suzumeda smiled to herself, chuckling and glad that, as he'd said, they still thought about each other in the same ways. But they'd need to work on their clarity, lest another Tendou disaster occur. So she typed out the best response she could with the five seconds she had on hand, knowing she'd spell it out for him for certain when they next met up:

 _-absolutely ❤_

\- ^-^3

 **:D WELL! Another background OTP for me** _ **finally**_ **getting their own fic, *lol*. I feel bad about it, taking so long… ;w; See, I first started writing this fic in November 2016 and didn't revisit it to work on/finish it until April 2018, but this was also a fic that fought me at times. So I'm v happy to come back to it two weeks later (in May, oops) after finishing the draft to realize it's a better story than I initially thought. XD *lol* There were some Suzu and Suzugata headcanons that I've mentioned in passing in other fics (p much my Fukurodani ones) that I fleshed out here a bit, which was nice to do at last. For me, Suzugata is appealing not only from an aesthetic point of view but also for how well I think their easygoing personalities would mesh (bc they're both easygoing but not off in their own worlds like, say, Tendou, or even Shirofuku); I also confess that we rly need more inter-school friendships and pairings in this fandom tbh. :P So, while this is still kind of pre-Suzugata, it deffo gives them a nice start. :D I also love writing the girls' closeness, bc Shirofuku seems as if she'd be the kouhai-doting type. Also—the third yrs (well, except Washio) nicknamed Yamiji "Yamisen" and you can't convince me otherwise. ;P *LOL***

 **Thanks for reading, and please review! Check out my other [** _ **HQ!**_ **] fics, too, if you liked this! If you need more owls, you know I've got you covered~**

 **-mew-tsubaki :3**


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